Gilbert De Magminot
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Gilbert Maminot, or Magminot, (d. August, 1101), was a
Norman Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 9th and 10th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norma ...
bishop in the eleventh century. He was born of 'a substantial Norman family of the middle rank', in Courbépine, his father being the knight Robert of Courbépine. He was known to his contemporaries as a capable administrator, and, according to Marjorie Chibnall, he was more than a match for
Robert Curthose Robert Curthose ( – February 1134, ), the eldest son of William the Conqueror, was Duke of Normandy as Robert II from 1087 to 1106. Robert was also an unsuccessful pretender to the throne of the Kingdom of England. The epithet "Curthose" ...
, who had succeeded his father,
William the Conqueror William the Conqueror (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), sometimes called William the Bastard, was the first Norman king of England (as William I), reigning from 1066 until his death. A descendant of Rollo, he was D ...
, to the title of
Duke of Normandy In the Middle Ages, the duke of Normandy was the ruler of the Duchy of Normandy in north-western France. The duchy arose out of a grant of land to the Viking leader Rollo by the French king Charles the Simple in 911. In 924 and again in 933, N ...
. Prior to his ascension to the see of Lisieux, Maminot had been the personal physician and chaplain to William the Conqueror.


Bishop of Lisieux

Upon the death of
Hugh of Eu Hugh is the English-language variant of the masculine given name , itself the Old French variant of '' Hugo (name)">Hugo'', a short form of Continental Germanic Germanic name">given names beginning in the element "mind, spirit" (Old English ). ...
in 1077, Gilbert was elected as his successor and was anointed by Michael, the bishop of Avranches in the presence of
John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second E ...
, the Archbishop of Rouen. Maminot was known to be 'a man of great learning and some medical skill, just and firm…but merciful’ and a capable administrator, although he was more notorious, according to
Marjorie Chibnall Marjorie McCallum Chibnall (27 September 1915 – 23 June 2012) was an English historian, medievalist and Latin translator. She edited the ''Historia Ecclesiastica'' by Orderic Vitalis, with whom she shared the same birthplace of Atcham in S ...
, for his failings; ‘worldliness, obstinacy, and self-indulgence’.
Orderic Vitalis Orderic Vitalis (; 16 February 1075 – ) was an English chronicler and Benedictine monk who wrote one of the great contemporary chronicles of 11th- and 12th-century Normandy and Anglo-Norman England.Hollister ''Henry I'' p. 6 Working out of ...
wrote that while Maminot was a man of ‘great learning and eloquence… ewas a slave to his own desires… nda great lover of leisure…’ While he was bishop, Maminot encouraged the expansion of an intellectual circle at Lisieux that had been first encouraged by his predecessor. In the ''Historia Ecclesiastica'', Orderic Vitalis wrote that Maminot was ‘very skilled in many subjects, and had long made a habit of watching the stars each night…
e was E, or e, is the fifth letter and the second vowel letter of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''e'' (pronounced ); plu ...
a learned astronomer.' Orderic goes on to explain that, on the 4th of April, in 1095, there was ‘a great shower of stars thick enough to have passed for hail’, that Gilbert observed, and that the bishop noted that:
“In my opinion this means the migration of peoples from one kingdom to another. For many will set out and never return until the stars return to their own orbits, from which now, as we see plainly, they are failing. Others indeed will remain in the high, holy place, like stars shining in the firmament."
Orderic suggests that this prophecy was related to the
First Crusade The First Crusade (1096–1099) was the first of a series of religious wars, or Crusades, initiated, supported and at times directed by the Latin Church in the Middle Ages. The objective was the recovery of the Holy Land from Muslim conquest ...
, which
Pope Urban II Pope Urban II (; – 29 July 1099), otherwise known as Odo of Châtillon or Otho de Lagery, was the head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 12 March 1088 to his death. He is best known for convening the Council of Clermon ...
would proclaim later that same year. As bishop of Lisieux, and having been the king's former personal physician, Maminot was present at the death of William the Conqueror in 1087, at the priory of Saint-Gervaise, and gave the funerary sermon at the monastery of Saint Stephen where the Conqueror was interred. On the 15th of March, 1091 he ordained Orderic Vitalis as a subdeacon of the cathedral of Lisieux. In 1096 Gilbert was recorded as an attendee at the
Synod of Rouen The first synod of Rouen is generally believed to have been held by Archbishop Saint-Ouen about 650. Sixteen of its decrees, one against simony, the others on liturgical and canonical matters, are still extant. Jean-François Pommeraye and a few ot ...
, where the decrees of the Council of Claremont were proclaimed; this council was also responsible for reiterating the enforcement of the
Peace of God The Peace and Truce of God () was a movement in the Middle Ages led by the Catholic Church and was one of the most influential mass peace movements in history. The goal of both the ''Pax Dei'' and the ''Treuga Dei'' was to limit the violence o ...
, amongst other decrees. In 1099, Maminot is known to have visited the abbey of Saint-Évroul, where he aided in a ceremony to dedicate the abbey's new church building, consecrating the high altar. This ceremony could only take place after the intervention of William II, as Gilbert had refused to bless either abbot-elect Serlo or abbot-elect Roger of Le Sap as Norman custom demanded; instead, Maminot had insisted on receiving a written oath of obedience (an English custom) from the abbots-elect, a task both refused to perform. Upon his death in 1101, Gilbert was succeeded to the bishopric of Lisieux by Fulcher, the illiterate brother of Ranulf Flambard, and then, upon Fulcher's death, by Ranulf's son Thomas, who was only twelve years of age, leading to major controversy.


The Defence of Dover Castle

William the Conqueror William the Conqueror (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), sometimes called William the Bastard, was the first Norman king of England (as William I), reigning from 1066 until his death. A descendant of Rollo, he was D ...
granted the Manor of
Deptford Deptford is an area on the south bank of the River Thames in southeast London, in the Royal Borough of Greenwich and London Borough of Lewisham. It is named after a Ford (crossing), ford of the River Ravensbourne. From the mid 16th century ...
or West Greenwich to Gilbert Magminot or Maminot,
bishop of Lisieux The Diocese of Lisieux was a Roman Catholic ecclesiastical territory in France, centered on Lisieux, in Calvados. The bishop of Lisieux was the Ordinary of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Lisieux. The bishopric was suppressed during the French ...
, one of the eight barons associated with John de Fiennes for the defence of
Dover Castle Dover Castle is a medieval castle in Dover, Kent, England and is Grade I listed. It was founded in the 11th century and has been described as the "Key to England" due to its defensive significance throughout history. Some writers say it is the ...
. These eight barons had to provide between them 112 soldiers, 25 of whom were always to be on duty within the castle, and the rest to be ready for any emergency. Gilbert de Maminot's share of the lands amounted to 24
knight's fee In feudal Anglo-Norman England and Ireland, a knight's fee was a unit measure of land deemed sufficient to support a knight. It would not only provide sustenance for himself, his family, and servants, but also the means to furnish himself and h ...
s as follows: two in Pevington, two in Eastwell, two in Davington, one in Cocklescombe, three in Thornden, three in Waldershare, two in Kennington, two in Cowdham, one in Billingham, one in Hartwell, one of Hugh Cheriton, one of Ralph Rovery, two of Roger Barham and one of Simon Wellard, which together made up the
barony Barony may refer to: * Barony, the peerage, office of, or territory held by a baron * Barony, the title and land held in fealty by a feudal baron * Barony (county division), a type of administrative or geographical division in parts of the British ...
of Maminot, held at Deptford as the head of the barony.''Dedication to the Public of Deptford Park'' by Dr W.J. Collins, 1897 In 1814 John Lyon wrote that Maminot built a castle, or castellated mansion, for himself at Deptford, of which all traces had by then long since been buried in their ruins, but from the remains of some ancient foundations which had been discovered the site was probably on the brow of Broomfield, near the Mast Dock and adjacent to
Sayes Court Sayes Court was a manor house and garden in Deptford, in the London Borough of Lewisham on the Thames Path and in the former parish of Deptford St Nicholas, St Nicholas. Sayes Court once attracted throngs to visit its celebrated garden''John Ev ...
. There is little known about de Magminot after he was appointed Marshal of Dover Castle. He was said to have had a son, Hugh, from whom Walkelin Maminot, who held Dover Castle against the
Empress Maud Empress Matilda (10 September 1167), also known as Empress Maud, was one of the claimants to the English throne during the civil war known as the Anarchy. The daughter and heir of Henry I, king of England and ruler of Duchy of Normandy, Norm ...
was descended.


References


Further reading

* Gilbert Maminot in the
Domesday Book Domesday Book ( ; the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book") is a manuscript record of the Great Survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 at the behest of William the Conqueror. The manuscript was originally known by ...
at th
National Archives
{{DEFAULTSORT:Magminot, Gilbert De Norman conquest of England Anglo-Normans Norman warriors History of the London Borough of Lewisham